Being a Messenger
by Jordan J. Smith
Summary: Petra was a girl in Kilvarough, living a life somewhere between poverty and riches, not enjoying herself. David was tired of the office of Eros, Incarnation of Love. Petra's one talent makes her perfect for the position.(I dislike this title, WIP) R&R Plz
1. One

(A/N : I DO NOT OWN the original "Incarnations of Immortality" series, Piers Anthony made that one. I do however own : Petra, Jacob, David, and many of the personalities behind the other Lesser Incarnations. I plan on this being the first in a series, so if you can think of anything that might have its own Incarnation, let me know and I will see if I can write a novel or novella about it ^_^ On with the story!)  
  
Chapter One  
  
She sang a few bars of a song, barely above a hum, and it took effect on the targeted couple almost immediately. -My powers may not be the best,- she though as she watched the couple, -but they certainly are effective.-  
  
She watched as Jan and Zeke, according to their name tags, exchanged newly acquired loving glances. Jan quietly giggled as she arranged cakes in the bakery section as Zeke restocked the bread shelf nearby.  
  
"I'm glad you two are *finally* together," Petra said quietly to herself as she navigated her way to the magic aisle. "It took me *ages* to find the song that actually worked!" She shook her head and stood examining the magics.  
  
They were 99 cent store quality packets of powdered spells and charms. They were the kind that rarely, if ever, worked acting more as a placebo unless the one invoking it had the ability to coax out the dormant magic quality. They were worth looking at anyway. It gave Petra time to ponder whether her magic was marketable.  
  
-You know,- she started thinking of the new couple, -it doesn't usually take a specific song to get a pair together. I wonder why that couple did. Hmm.- She shrugged it off, and examined the packet she was holding. "Instant Love With the Person of Your Choice!" it proclaimed.  
  
She snorted tersely. She threw back the offending packet and quickly wrapped up her shopping.  
  
An hour later, she lay sprawled across her ancient thrift store sofa in her beloved section of the Kilvarough slums. It was somewhere between he ghettos of Molly Malone, and the large houses of the well-to-do, one of which she *knew* had a pair of live griffins guarding it.  
  
"I envy the person that gets to live in that mansion," she would almost shout every time she passed it. She thought of those griffins and hit the back of the old couch, just to watch he immense cloud of dust spring from it and momentarily cloud the room before escaping through a permanently cracked-open window.  
  
She sighed, knowing that the only way she could ever live in a house like that would be to become their live-in maid. Something had to change soon, or she'd lose what little mind she had left. Cleaning the floors of the local head shop was *not* her idea of a career. For a while she'd hoped that a handsome rich weirdo would come in and sweep her off her feet.  
  
-It isn't like I'm not pretty enough, - she thought, laying on the couch ith her arm over her eyes.- Average height, light build, golden hair. Granted, it ouldn't hurt for me to be a C cup, but that shoulnd't matter *that* much.- She sighed again, moving her arm and looking at the turn-dial T.V. from the same era as her houndstooth-pattern sofa.  
  
She stood up and walked over to the pabbit-eared T.V. set and clicked it on. -I even have blue eyes!- she thought indignantly. -Ok, chill out, it doesn't matter.- She flipped chnnels and found one of a few shows that her T.V. could actually get and sprawled herself back out on the couch.  
  
This was her life, simple, casual, but usually alone. The twelve boyfriend's she'd had in the past three years were never really there for *her* as herself, just *her* as a nice pair of eyes, legs, and . . . well, you know the *other* pair that men use for a girlfriend-gauge. (A/N : Aren't * I * lady-like, lol.) They'd all wanted a turn in the sack, some had even been willing to pay. Poor as she was, she wasn't tacky, and so each one had to be let go in turn.  
  
Ever since her first boyfriend whe she was sixteen, her love life had been cursed. At least that how it felt to Petra. At the same time she broke up with her first boyfriend, she noticed that singing could get people together. So, like most things, her ability came with a price. She practiced, and soon found that she could see which couples were meant to be together, and would sing while concetrating on them. Perhaps it sprung from her own lonliness. She'd never had it investigated, nor had she really told anyone about it. She had cultured it, fine tuned it, and soon found that she could help start long lasting relationships. Petra had never tried her magic on herself, since most self-made magics didn't work on their owners.  
  
Petra was 23, and had been living in this apartment for two years. She was there for another year, with over a hundred succeseful couples under her belt and as many broken hearts for herself.  
  
"Happy birthday to me," she sang flatly, blowing out the candles on the small, round, chocolate cake. She had three candles, one for past, present, and future. She abandoned the rest of the song, picking up a fork and eating the cake with a small bit of depression, already scoffing her ritual birthday wish. "What a happy birthday this is. Still stuck with this job, this hideous - but comfy - couch, an ancient T.V. set, and now the worlds *biggest* spider is landing on my floor," she said the last part with fear, pulling her feet onto the couch. "If you're staying, I hope you're prepared to pay half the rent," she joked, trying to lighten her mood. Then she *really* got scared.  
  
The spider was growing, its eight eyes coalescing into two, it's eight legs fusing, forming two legs and two arms. It turned into a middle aged woman, with a lined, wizend, and kind face, and honey-ish hair pulled in a tight bun. Her white shirt and grey skirt looked comfortable, nice, but not pretty, and she had a formidable look in her eyes. "I don't think *that* will be necessary, dear," she smiled warmly in answer to Petra's joke.  
  
"Okay, I don't mean to be rude, but *what* are you?" Petra asked incredulously. "Are you real or did that guy at the bakery spike my cake?"  
  
The woman chuckled. "My dear Petra, I'm as real as that hideous creation you're sitting on, and much more important." Petra opened her mouth to ask a question, but was silenced when the woman said "I am an aspect of the Incarnation of Fate." Her form changed to a voloupious young Asian woman, who said in her own voice "I am Clotho, who spins the Thread of Life." The form changed to the middle-aged woman, who said "I am Lachesis, I measure the Thread of Life." Between her fingertips were strange glowing threads. The form changed again, this time into an old colored woman with a pair of scissors, who said "I am Atropos, I cut the Thread of Life." The Fate reverted to Lachesis. "People are most often more comfortable with this form on a first meeting."  
  
"I'm . . . pleased to meet the three of you. Why are you in my apartment, of all places?" She ate more of her cake, not quite sure what to believe and finding solace in chocolate.  
  
"Gaea, the Incarnation of Nature, and Eros, the Incarnation of Love, have had their eyes on you for a while. Your success with other couples has impressed them both, and as the current Eros is growing tired of the past century of his work, they were wondering if I might come and offer you the job." Lachesis informed her. After finishing, she looked about the dingy apartment.  
  
"Why didn't Eros or Gaea come and see me themselves? Why send you?" Petra finished her cake and looked at the empty cardboard it had been sitting on.  
  
"It will be up to me to help you make the changeover and figure out what to do with your Life-Thread should you choose to accept the position. You could decline if you like, but I don't see much point. Besides, an Eros who is tired of the office does not fill it well." Lachesis tilted her heaad slightly in inquiry of the girl's descision.  
  
"What would happen if I decline?" Petra walked to the kitchenette, throwing the cardboard in the trashcan and washing off her fork. She leaned against the counter, thinking, as she toweled off the fork and put it in its drawer.  
  
"Then we wait for the next possible officeholder, although there will not be another with the same potential for success for another lifetime. Love, true love, will be sporratic depending on the mood of the disenchanted Eros until a successor can be found." Lachesis looked at Petra with a piercing gaze. "Not a very good future, certainly. But there will be challenges to be overcome. Anything worth doing has its own problems."  
  
"Yeah, I've noticed that," Petra sighed, coming back to the old couch. "I'll miss this place if I go." Lachesis stood calmly, quietly, while petra looked around the small aprtment, drinking in its simplicity. "Will I need to bring anything?" she asked.  
  
"Only if you truly need it," Lachesis told her in a motherly fashion. "Otherwise, all things can be found in Purgatory, where you will be living with Gaea should you accept."  
  
"I accept. love is a very important thing," Petra told Lachesis, making the older woman nod. "There's one thing that I want to take with me," She said, going into the closed off room that was her small bedroom with a matrees on the floor. She took a soft, blue-grey teddy bear from her bedclothes, and came back. "It was a present from my grandparents. I've had it as long as I can remember, and i couldn't stand just leaving it here."  
  
"I know dear, I know." Lachesis smiled and held out her hand. "We'll use my webbing to get to Purgatory. Gaea and Eros will interview you on the outskirts of their domain, and you will most likely become Eros." She led Petra's hand to the strong, silky thread and turned back into the large spider.  
  
"Wait a second, I'm not suited for climbing a thread all the way to Purgatory! Isn't there a more practical way for me to get there?" Petra looked at the barely visible thread in her hand, then at the large spider.  
  
The spider laughed with Lachesis' voice. "I shall contact Death. He has a much more universal mode of transportation." Fate and her thread were gone before Petra could ask about Death.  
  
"Oh, this one's gonna be *fun* to meet," Petra muttered to herself sarcastically. "I hope Death's pleasant." She realised how stupid that sounded when someone came walking in her door. "Hey! How'd you get in? I *know* I locked that door."  
  
It was a man, taller than her but not greatly so. He chuckled and looked her in the eye. "I was summoned out of my work to come and take you to Purgatory."  
  
She was mildly phased when she saw the skull of Death staring at her. "Thanks, Death." She looked at him a moment longer. "I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble, and because I have to say it, the fact that you can't blink is *really* creepy."  
  
He chuckled again, turning and leading her out. "You're not causing me much trouble." He showed her to a pale white stallion with polished steel hooves. "You're the first perdon to comment on my eye-sockets." He chuckled again. "Mortis, meet the soon-to-be Eros."  
  
The stallion neighed and kicked his hoof in greeting. "He is pleased to meet you," Death translated. Mortis nickered, and Death said, "He says he is certain you will get the office."  
  
"Thank you Mortis," Petra said, shyly stroking his mane.  
  
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" Death asked, preparing to mount.  
  
"I've never *seen* a horse before, let alone ridden one. I could figure it out, though," she offered.  
  
"No need to." It looked to her like he pressed a button on the far side of the saddle, and the horse suddenly turned into a bone-pale Sedan. "Climb on in," he told her, walking to get in the drivers side.  
  
Petra's mouth hung open as she got into the luxurious car. "What a horse!" Petra said stunned. She reached out to feel the upholstery on the seat and the leather n the dash. "Ooh, this is one of those lands yachts I've always wished to ride in."  
  
"One of the perks of the office," Death told her, relaxing and letting he car-horse get itself ready to start the drive to Purgatory. "Mortis is the greatest tool that comes with the office. Death must be able to reach his clients, no matter where they are, and Mortis enables that."  
  
"If it weren't the office of Death, I'd say it was a pretty cushy job." Petra watched clounds roll past her window as they ascended.  
  
"Wise," was his only answer. She decided to change the subject.  
  
"What does Purgatory look like, anyway?"  
  
"It depends on which incarnation you're visiting, or becoming. Gaea and the lesser Incarnations that work for and with her live in a woodland- type area. Fate lives in a house of webs." Petra shuddered. "War lives in a great red palace, I live in a mortuary-type house, and Chronos lives in a white house that looks like it's made of marble."  
  
"I'm glad I don't have to live in Fate's house. Spiders and *anything* to do with them creep me out." Petra laughed shakily, and they flew through a cloud layer and landed, or parked, on a grassy plain in front of a large office looking building.  
  
"This is the main Purgatory office," Death told her as Mortis turned back into a horse. "Gaea's palace is that way," he told her pointing to the right of the office building. "She and Eros are waiting for you there, acording to Mortis." He waved to her, she waved back, nd he hit a button on his strange, black, slick-metal watch an flew through the ground.  
  
"This place is very . . . odd. Yeah, odd," she confirmed, starting towards Gaea's realm of Purgatory. "Who *ever* would've thought that I'd be in, er, on, Purgatory being interviewed for the office of Eros? Not me, that's for certain. I wonder how much Mags would freak out. if we still spoke, that is. She was a good friend when she felt like it." She passed the white marble mansion that she decided must be Chronos' house. "I wonder how *his* office works? I know 'Chronos' means time, or something like that. I wonder if Chronos and I will get along. More importantly, will Gaea like me enough to let me be the new Eros." She looked at the teddy bear she'd had a death grip on since she met Death. -Ha ha,- she thought.  
  
The ground became more uneven as she proceeded, dirt, rocks, and a few patches of grass. hen the grass took over, and she was surrounded by more trees than she'd ever seen in her entire life. All kinds of trees, making a beautiful canopy above her head and leaving only patches of the clear blue sky coming through.  
  
"Gaea," she called softly. "Gaea, are you . . . available?" She thought about asking 'Are you here', but decided that Gaea was anywhere that anything natural grew.  
  
"Yes," something called/whispered rom in front of her. It sounded like a gentle breeze through foliage, a babbling brook, the ocean crashing against the rocks, and a bird singing in the dawn all at once. "Come deeper into the forest, Eros and I await you," the beautiful voice of Gaea spoke again.  
  
Petra nodded, and started walking through the trees. They came closer together as she went, and the ground became more harsh and forbidding. So she sang. She sang one of the mellow songs that she so loved, and the ground became more friendly. She sang her way through the Forest of Gaea as she started reffering to it for twenty minutes, and came upon a great towerin castle of flora. Spires that reached to the sky, blooming with all colors of flowers. She came to the living tree door and knocked. It swung open, and she was admitted into a large foyer that led to a beautiful parlor of the same living trees, shrubs, and flower bushes.  
  
"So glad you could make it," Gaea's natural-melodic voice cooed gently as she set down a cup of tea. She was clad in a roving mist, giving slight views of various patches of her body as she moved. Her hair had a mossy-green tinge, and her eyes looked like crystal clear waters. "I, as I'm sure you've already noticed, am Gaea, and this is Eros." She gestured to a man sitting in a foliage chair much like her own. He had short brown hair, and a certain roundness to his body and features. He looked pleasant enough, but with a certain boredom to his eyes. He was wearing a forest green suit and matching green dress shoes. Apparently, all things connected with Gaea were shades of green.  
  
"It's so nice to meet you both," Petra said bowing, feeling very awkward and out of place. "Have we started the interview yet?"  
  
Gaea laughed and Eros chuckled. "The interview has concluded," Gaea told her. "You are fit for the office of Eros, Incarnation of Love. Eros, lead her to her new quarters."  
  
Eros rose, setting down his teacup on the tree coffee table and led Petra out the back of the castle. "The office of Eros comes with its own small house," he told her. "It's nothing like Gaea's castle, but it is comfortable." He took her to a large house made of living trees and flowers. It was so much larger than her own apartment had been that it took her a moment to adjust to the fact that it would be *hers*. Then as she entered, she remembered the conversation with Gaea.  
  
"How did the interview conclude?" Petra asked Eros. "How did the interview commence? If you don't mind letting me know before we proceed."  
  
He smiled slightly at her. "Your interview commenced whe you called out to Gaea and heard her, and concluded when you successfully came through the forest to the Castle. Gaea's defences are very tight, and only an Incarnation, lesser Incarnation, or in your case an Incaration candidate can get in. In the case of a canidate, they become a lesser Incarnation under Gaea by getting to her Castle. Otherwise, they go bck totheir prior existence. Now, if you and your friend will follow me," he smirked, indicating herself and her teddy bear to enter.  
  
She blushed slightly, hugging her teddy close to her and walking behind Eros. "It's all very straightforward : kitchen, bedrooms, half-baths (although the only things in there are sinks, bathtubs and showers), parlor, den. There's a television set in the den that shows you news pertaining to yourself."  
  
She brightened at all the things that would now be hers. "You mean it?" Eros nodded, and Petra squealed like a girl at a concert. "First I'm going to put Teddy in my room," she told him for no real reason, rushing off to the largest bedroom.  
  
When she came back from oggling the (to her) massive bedroom she was rushing to the den whe Eros grabbed her upper arm. "There *are* some fomalities before you *actually* inhabit the office," he told her calmly.  
  
"Oh, oh of course there would be," Petra said, smacking her forehed with her hand. "What do we do to transfer the office?"  
  
He held his hands up by his chest, palms facing her. "Take my hands." She nodded, solemnly taking his hands. He closed his eyes and she followed suit, and she felt a great surge of power surge through her arms and nestled near her heart and in her eyes. They looked at each other, each knowing that something new was happening to each.  
  
Petra's blue eyes had taken on a mysterious glow. They now looked like moonlit pools of crystal water, while his eyes now looked like an average brown. "Thank you so much, Eros," she said, her voice now resonating slightly with the new power.  
  
"*You* are Eros now. I am once again David." His eyes sparkled with the joy of being himself again, while Petra's eyes sparkled with he joy of being someone powerful and necessarry. "I am so gad that you passed the interview, now I can return to Earth and blend in, no obligations to help the mortals, just be one of them. Good luck in your new office, and I hope that your grace period goes well enough for you to keep it." He kissed her cheek and strode out, making his way towards whatever transportation had been arranged for him.  
  
"Grace period," she asked herself quietly. She shrugged and decided to find whatever clothing went wih the office before asking Gaea any more questions. The closet in the master bedroom had several gauze gowns tinted ever so slightly green with sandals to match. She slipped one on, thinking that it looked Greko-Roman as she put on the sandals and modled for Teddy.  
  
She gigled and padded to the den, flopping onto the couch and clicking on the t.v. with its remote. "A new Eros has taken office," a newscaster woman said, "but has yet to *actually* perform any of the duties that go with it. She seemes to be relaxed about this situation and slightly niave as to the task before her."  
  
"Up to date," Petra muttered to herself. "Very boring, but up to date." She clicked off the television and walked out, deciding that perhaps she should ask about her responsibilities. Would Petra be interacting with the oother Incarnations much? David had mentioned something about being among the mortals without having to be responsible, implying that she had to wander around Earth.  
  
She entered the Castle of Gaea and found her in her parlor, playing the most beautiful music petra had ever heard on a half-size, obiously magic, harp. Her beautiful, strange, and somehow sad voice sang the melody to harp's harmony. Petra stood entranced until the song concluded several minutes later. Gaea turned and looked to her newest charge as she liked to think of them.  
  
"Eros, so good to see you're ready to start." She set down the harp and waked to Petra, her mist-dress dissapating and collecting in a suggestive way. She gently straightened the dress on Petra.  
  
"About that, what exactly do I do? I know it has something to do with love, so I assume it would be something Cupid-like. I must warn you now, I'm no good with a bow and arrow." Petra flattened the skirt against her thighs, suddenlt longing for a T-shirt and jeans.  
  
Gaea laughed. "No no, Eros. Nothing like that. You will help ouples get started together in the same way you did on Earth. Sing, and love will blossom around the selected couple. If you sing from you heart with love, the couple will be always successful. If from sadness or sorrow, the couple's love will end in sadness and sorrow."  
  
"Intense," she stated simply, shoving her hands in her pockets. She looked sown to see herself in a pale green T-shirt and forest green jeans. "What happened to my dress?!" She jumped slightly, a look of fear and confusion on her face.  
  
"Purgatory clothing changes to suit your mood," she smiled, "if you'll pardon the pun. And most of the jobs of the Incarnations are intense. It is most likely that you will meet the other Incarnaions, or at least six of the seven major Incarnations, over the course of your work. You've already met three, and will be working with me quite often as we are, once again pardon the pun, in the same field. Since you will pend much of your time on Earth, it is most likely that you will meet the Inacrnation of Evil. Do not speak His name, even here, for that is His beacon. He might try to put you in his pocket, as it were. However, another reason you were selected to be interviewed was your strong sense of right and wrong. Forgive me for leaing you to all those filed loves, but you needed to be tested." She wafted away towards her chair. "I need to start the monsoon season in India shortly. Anything you feel you need to say, say it quickly."  
  
"What about Chronos? Something about his house . . . called to me, I guess." Petra looked questioningly at Gaea, putting her hands back in her jeans pockets.  
  
Gaea smiled, looking somewhat like a tiger watching a gazelle. "He becomes very close to you, although you do not truly work together. In his timeline, today you are leaving office. He lives life backwards to all of us, although beyond that I know little or nothing except for he fact that in his house, time follows his timeline, so you leave before you arrive. I would suggest going to see him tomorrow evening, for he will be very . . . emotional."  
  
"Emotional how?" Petra questioned.  
  
"You shall see. Attend to your office now, and I will attend to mine." Gaea readied the harp and Petra walked out before the enchanting melody started.  
  
Petra walked back to the hoouse that Eros was assigned to. She searched the den for something that might help her get to and from earth and travel around the surface. She found some sheet music on a coffee table. It said "Song of Travel" in elaborate caligraphy across the top. There was also a piano on the far side of the room, where she stood the music, finding the notes and figuring out the words. She was relatively sure she had he song right and memorised, so she sang it at her full volume. The world around her shifted, like turning a page in a picture book, and she found herself on Earth, near a couple sitting at a cafe` and having dificulties getting comfortable.  
  
She thought of a beautiful love song that seemed to work most often. She neared the couple, subtly singing the enchanting love song. As the song unfolded, their inhibitions were thrown aside, and by the time it had finished, they were conversing avidly. Petra couldn't understand what they saying, for they were speaking in a language she didn't recognize. She sang the Song of Travel again, and the page turned to a grocery store.  
  
-This is just *vaguely* familiar,- she thought, grinning. She saw a man and a woman exchanging glances in the aisle. She sang again and he asked for her phone number and a date. -Back in the USA,- she thought as she listened to the budding relationship.  
  
For several hours, she sang the Song of Travel and it took her where she was needed. Surprisingly enough to her, Petra's voice wasn't tired after six hours of singing off and on. She focused on going back to her house in Purgatory for a glass of water and sang the Song of Travel again. She found herself in the main room of her house. "Yes!" she quietly congratuletd herself, making her way to the kitchen. She fished around the cupboards fo a minute, getting a glass and filling it with tapwwater before going to the den. She sat on the couch and turned on the T.V., curious as to what the news said.  
  
"The new Eros has, in the past six hours, personally pushed *twenty eight* new couples in the direction of a lasting relationship. This contends with her predeccessor's record of *twenty four* within his first six hours. The question now being, will she be able to keep this up for the whole of her breaking-in period." The newswoman rearranged her papers while Petra left the room to get more water. "In other news," she said as Petra sat back down, "Chronos is quote-unquote 'torn up' about the (in his timeline) current Eros' impending retirement. Although he *is* at his mansion, he refused to give us a statement."  
  
Petra clicked off the T.V. "How weird," she mumbled to herself before finishing her second glass of water. "Gaea did say that we become, er, became, um, whatever I mean, close. I wonder *how* close, exactly." She shrugged lightly. "I guess I'll just find out tomorrow." 


	2. Two

Chapter Two  
  
"Gaea," Petra asked, coming into the Castle's parlor. "If you don't mind my askiing, what's my grace period? Er, I guess I mean, how long is my garce period?" It was 7 am, at least that's what time it was in Kilvarough, when she decided she ought to ask Gaea.  
  
"I believe it is two weeks, as all the other offices here are," Gaea told her noncomittaly. "Hopefully, you will be able to adjust well in that time, for your predeccesor has found a love of his own in his new life on Earth."  
  
"I hope I can adjust in that time too," Petra told her weakly. "I like my life here much better than I like my life there. I'm sure you must be busy, I'll just go and get started for the day." She sang the Song of Travel and found herself in a highrise ofice building.  
  
People were bustling in, starting their hum-drum day of paper pushing. Petra started humming, waiting for the possible couple to present themselves. A woman in a loud pink suit set shuffled past petra and ran into a man in a classic grey suit. Petra's song grew more confident, but faltered when she realised the man in the grey suit was one of her more recent ex-boyfriends. She shut her eyes and thought of her "Mr. Right", and how happy he would make her feel when she met him. When she opened her eyes at the end of the song, Ex and the pink woman were exchanging numbers and making arrangements for lunch.  
  
-Be careful with him,- she thought, walking away to find a discreet place to sing the Song of Travel. -He may be a horn-dog, but he has a gentle soul.-  
  
She went into the ladies room, washed her face and looked in the mirror. -Why didn't he see me? Or recognize me?- She wet down her hair a bit out of habbit. -Maybe it has something to do wih the office, or the Purgatory clothing or something.- She shrugged it off, deciding it would waste time if she thought about it too long. She sang again and found herself in a skirmish in India.  
  
The monsoon season had started yesterday, and apparently two villages were fighting for space on the high ground that they'd both discovered. Petra looked around, and thanked having the power of an Incarnation. The pounding winds felt like a gentle breeze, and the rain never touced her. She walked across the surface of the treacherous mud towards the hillside skirmish.  
  
Petra noticed all the people had seperated themselves into two sides, and had small tents for those who were injured in the skirmish. Se walked to the one closest to her and searched the room for any possible couples. The only ones that had any potential were at the back of the tent, and seemed to call to her. As she approached, she saw two boys about seventeen years old. There was a rather frail-looking one n the bed with his arm in a sling. The boy caring for him looked a bit sturdier and more cynical.  
  
Petra hoped she was doing the right thing when she sang for them. The power hit the sturdier one first, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do. By the time the song ended, he kissed his charge, very swiftly ad softly on the lips. The other boy used his god arm to pull the first boy back into the kiss. Petra hurried out of the tent into the monsoon rain.  
  
As she stood questioning her judgement, she saw a man in a great red cloak with a large red sword standing in the ground between the fghting villagers. -War? At this little place,- she asked herself. She walked over to him, careful not to get in any crossfire just in case she wasn't invulnerable. "Mars, I presume?" She joked as she came within his earshot.  
  
"Ah, and you must be Eros," he said in a deep and somehow gentle voice as she neared him. "What brings you here?"  
  
"Buisness, same as you," she said, examining his face. It was tan, with sharp features and defined cheek bones.  
  
"I suppose people can fall in love during a war," he said as he contemplated. "Who are the lucky couple?"  
  
"Oddly enough, a pair of teenage boys in the hospital tent," she told him with a look of confusion as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "I just hope I did the right thing by them."  
  
"You probably did. If you had not been meant to come to them, would you have come to them anyway? From what I've experienced, love is a very strange thing, atacking when you least want it and leaving you when you need it most."  
  
Petra knew he was reffering more to a loved one or himself than to love as a thing, but she let it slide. She shrugged, preffering *not* to tell him what love was from what she'd experienced. "I wanted to ask to ask ou what you were doing at a mere skirmish. I mean, I'm *sure* there are far larger and more important wars going on right now."  
  
"Actually, thanks to me, this is the largest conflict of a war-type nature to be foun on all of Earth. Much as I dislike war, without it I would cease to exist, and someone far more evil than I would obtain the office," Mars looked aound, not flinchng when he heard someone's arm snap.  
  
"I would like to talk to you more, but this is most definately not my preffered area," Petra told Mars politley as someone screamed in anguish. She flinched away from all the sounds.  
  
"Oh of course. This is no place for Love to stay very long. Tell Gaea that I send her my regards." Mars waved and walked back to the center of the battle, ochestrating it with the red sword.  
  
She sang the Song of Travel and was very relieved to find herself in a shopping mall. "Next time, I'm *not* staying in a war zone any longer than neccesarry."  
  
For several hours she was in the mall, getting various couples of various types started on the path to relationships. At around noon, she was walking by the food court and wondering if she could snag something for unch without thirnoticing. After all, she *was* able to walk around anywhere else and not be noticed. She looked up and down the fodcourt, sensing something.  
  
Her eyes caught Death moving about the people at the tables, holding a compass-type thing and moving it around as he walked. She smirked at her firt reaction, which was a thought of -Oh no! He's coming for me!- Now she wondered who he was coming for and how would they die. she turned her face, not caring to see anyone die, even if she had met Death.  
  
Petra focused on her house behind Gaea's palace and sang herself there. She found some warm chicken strips in the oven, and suddeny wondered if that's the way it worked in Purgatory or if she had her own staff somewhere.  
  
"Hello? Is someone here," she called, skeptically eyeing the chicken strips and going into her den. "Hello? Why were there chicken strips in my oven?" She shrugged and went into the den, sitting on her chouch and flipping on the T.V.  
  
"The chicken strips are compliments of Me," a man in a sleek buisness suit with blonde hair slicked back told her from the room where the newscaster woman usually sat. "Call it a 'Welcome Aboard' present."  
  
"Who may I ask, are you," Petra said. "And where's the newscaster woman who's usually there?"  
  
"I gave her a break, and I go by many names. You may call Me Satan." He smiled, making Petra shudder.  
  
"I didn't invite you. How did you get here?"  
  
"I'm not there per se. Televisions do that kind of thing, you know. They can be the can be the most useful creations," he smiled again, flashing pearly whites.  
  
"I see. Listen, I'm sure it's very kind of you to take time out of your busy schedule to introduce yourself to me and send me chicken strips," Petra told him, trying to sound subtly repulsed and still not offend him, "but I don't quite feel like talking with anyone right now. I've been having a very strange day, and it's only half over. It was a pleasure meeting you, Prince, but I'd like to see whether the Purgatory news group thinks I'm doing a good job."  
  
"As you wish, madam Eros," he smiled, his canines glinting as the screen flashed and resumed its newscast screen.  
  
"Eros is on a lunch break it seems, after only thirteen hours total of working in the past twenty hours she's held the office. She was also just visited by Satan, prominent leader of Hell and husband of Gaea. It seems she was civil enough to not anger the Prince, but was sarcastic enough to assure her alliance with good. The Lord of Darkness was, er, good enough to send us an interview."  
  
Satan appeared in a clean, respectable-looking red office with another newscaster holding a microphone towards him. "Now," the reporter asked, "what is your impression of the new officeholder?"  
  
"Well, she too good as of now to relate to Me. I think that's very respectable. Besides, where would Earth be if the Incarnation of Love was in my pocket?" Satan sat on his desk, looking at the rporter. "Anything else?"  
  
"Yes," the reporter stammered, obviously uncomfortable in Satan's ofice in Hell. "Do you think she will keep the office beyond her trial period?"  
  
"If she keeps this all up, yes, I think she could be Eros for a century or two."  
  
"And there you have it," the reporter said as he turned to the camera. "Satan gives his approval of the new Eros. Whether that will help her along her way or not is yet to be known."  
  
Petra clicked off the T.V., hoping that meant the Prince could not see her as she trashed the chicken strips. She rifled through the frige, looking for something that the devil *hadn't* given to her and hoping she'd found it in an apple at the back. "This'll have to do for now," she sighed, taking a bite. It was an ordinary apple, and she ate it to the core before starting out for her afternoon rounds.  
  
They were various places all over the globe, speaking various languages, and occasionaly straying from the norm. After sveral times seeing the sun set and then it being late evening, Petra sang herself home (as she now reffered to Purgatory) to check the watch she had with her that stated the Kilvarough time. She suddenly realised that most thngs, including the news, ran on Kilvarough time.  
  
The watch said that it was 8 pm. She decided that she would wait on love lives until she felt the need to push them along. She wandered around, still drinking in the wonder of owning her own house of that size. She wandered into the bedroom, tossing herself onto the bed. It was feather soft, cushioning her wonderfully well. She'd never owned a bed so comfortable in all her life. She was almost convinced that this was heaven. However, as Hell was an actual place, Petra decided that Heaven must be too, even though she had yet to meet God.  
  
She stroked Teddy, her loving companion-bear. "Well Teddy," she asked quietly, "What should I do now?" As usual, the answer came to her immediately. "Go see Chronos! I wonder why I forgot?" She shrugged. "Maybe I should ask Gaea about him first," she questioned lightly before making Teddy nod. "So glad you agree!" She giggled, kissed his head and set him in "his" place on the pillows. She walked out of the room, and noticed how walking had become more like gliding across the ground since she took office.  
  
Again, she found Gaea in her parlor, and suddenly remembered what the newscaster had said about her marriage to Satan. "Gaea," petra asked quietly. The green mother turned slightly to look at Petra. "I was wondering about meeting Chronos. Would that be a good idea right now?" She was nervous, and one of her nervous habbits was running her right thumbnail across the inside of her right middle finger.  
  
"That would be a good idea," Gaea od her with a slight nod. "Just remember, Chronos lives life backwards, and so to him you are leaving office tomorrow. He also remembers things backwards to our timeline, and so might mention things he remembers that you do not." She stood, elegantly walking to Petr and lookin deeply into her eyes. "He will be very emotional right now, do not be surprised." With that, she walked to doorway, and petra barely remembered her oher question.  
  
"Gaea, is i true that yu are married to -" She stopped short.  
  
Gaea interuppted, saying "It is true, but do not say the name of his office, for it calls him. If you must use any name to describe him without wanting him to come, refer to him as 'Natasha'." She smirked lightly. "Write it backwards when you have the opportunity. now, we *both* have things to attend to."  
  
They nodded a slight goodbye and went out the seperate doors. petra had found that getting out of Gaea's forest was much easier than getting into it. In a few minutes, she was on the outside of the magical forest. She looked at what now appeared to be the thickest forest in all the universe (which from this side it was), and shakes her head lightly, starting off towards Chronos' house. She wondered again about how close Chronos and her were, or would be.  
  
She entered the high white walls surounding Chronos' domain. She walked to his front door, a thick, white-painted wood, and knocked gently, but still with enough force for the sound to carry. A prim butler opened the door, looking at the floor and saying "Chronos wishes to see no one. Come back later."  
  
"That's very rude," she sighed. The butlers head snapped up and he looked at her. "I wanted to say hello/goodbye to Chronos."  
  
"Do forgive me, Eros! I did not see that it was you. Come in, Chronos is waiting for you in his room. he'll most likely be crying," he told Petra in a whiper as he let her in. "Down the hall to your right, it's the only room with the door shut."  
  
"Thank you," she told him politely, gliding across the floor to the hall that the butler had indicated. She found the closed door, fifth (and last) on the right. She could hear muffled crying from behind the large white blockade. She again knocked gently, with just enough force to be heard.  
  
"Go away," a muffled and choked voice said. "I don't how you got in past the doorman, but get yourself out past him the same way!" The crying resumed, a little more muffled than before.  
  
"Chronos, I almost think you don't want to see me," she said with a sigh. "Will I have to wait a full year before I meet you?" Apparently, he recognized her voice as fast as the butler did. The crying, still muffled, grew louder and a lock on the other side of the door slid.  
  
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(A/N: I'm leaving you hanging!!!!! MWAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAAAAHAAAAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! ok sorry, had to be done. The next chapter will be up shortly, as the fist half was origianlly part of this chapter. That's why it took me so long to get around to posting it. Enjoy^_^) 


	3. Three

(A/N: ~Trumpets blair~ The next chapter! Yay! I'm so happy that I've gotten such good reviews. You'll have to forgive the long break (and spelling errors), but writing takes 2 things: time, and motivation, both of which I've been short on. Anyways, on with the story!)  
  
She came face to face with Chronos, one of the most powerful and most complex Incarnations. He, like the other Incarnations, had a strange glow of power in his eyes. They were a calm green, like the leaves of trees when you look up towards the sun through them. He had a light tan, and was perhaps a year or two older than Petra. His honey-tan cheeks were tear- stained, and his eyes were puffy around the edges from crying. "Oh, my dearest Petra," he said with a sigh, throwing a handercheif. in the luandry hamper as he looked at her. "Oh Pet, how I'll miss you when you go."  
  
He came out of his room a few steps to hug her tightly, lift her from the ground and spin her around a bit. She was surprised, but didn't mind much and so didn't object. He set her down shortly, taking her hand and leading her into his room. It too was white, with various posters, pictures, and wall hangings that she had never seen before. "Why didn't you just carry me in while you were hugging me and spinning me around?" She asked him, curious as to his motives.  
  
A sad smile pulled at his lips, and he turned to look at her, still holding her hand."And make you mad at me so soon before you go?" He chuckled half heartedly. "I know your aversion to being carried over *any* threshold. I still remember the first time you told me that it had been the brutish male's way of proving to the woman that he had dominance." He smiled weakly, raising his free hand to stroke her cheek. His eyes started to well over and he cleared his throat. "Could you excuse me, just for a moment?" At her sympathetic nod, he kissed her cheek and hurried into what she assumed must be the master bathroom.  
  
She delicately touched her cheek, suddenly wondering how much closer they would be/were. She looked at the posters, some of which were for movies, others for bands, all of which she had never heard of. She sat on the bed. It was as comortble as her own, and she laid down across it widthwise, looking at the posters on the far wall upside down. She sighed, putting the heel of her palms over her eyes in her eyesockets, wondering what *ever* possesed her to take on such a responsibility, and what made her so curious about the Incarnation of Time?  
  
He came out of the bathroom just then. Seeing Petra sprawled across across his bed reminded him of his most fond memory, that in her timeline didn't exist. He wanted to say something to her about it, but decided that he wouldn't just in case that would change his past. "I'm back Pet," he told her as he sat on the bed next to her. She sat up, and he wrapped and arm around her waist. He chuckled a bit before sighing. "Here I am calling you 'Pet', and you don't even know my name."  
  
Petra smiled a bit, taking in his scent of musk and . . . sand? Now that she thought about it, his voice sounded a bit sandy, if such a thing were possible. She realised that such things were possible and, since the hourglass was Chronos' symbol, the sandiness about him made sense. "Well, tell me your name then. I am rather curious, now."  
  
He smiled, lop-sidedly this time. "You always were so sensible that way. My name is Jacob, and you usually call me Jay.You've let me call you Pet, short for Petra, ever since I first realised I loved you. Things in this relationship will be weird for you, but as of right this minute I remember it all working out." He shook his head.  
  
"Four years without you," he sighed, looking into her eyes. "I can't even imagine four *days* without you, my darling Pet." He once again nestled his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply.  
  
"Do I smell good, dearest Jay," she asked with a smile, putting the hood of his robe over his shoulders and off his head so she could stroke his hair. She ran her fingers through his hair, then nestled her face in it.  
  
"Yes," he answered simply. "Yes. If beauty and elegance were a smell, you would be it." He kissed her neck softly and nuzzled her gently.  
  
Petra inhaled sharply at the unexpected kiss. He pulled away, startled and worried that he'd done something to upset her. "I'm sorry Jay. I liked it, I just wasn't quite expecting it," she blushed lightly.  
  
"I love it when you blush," he said softly, reaching up and stroking her cheeks. "It makes you look even more like an angel." He smiled weakly, almost tearing over again. "May I kiss you, Pet?"  
  
"Yes," she answered quietly. "Yes, you may kiss me, as long as I may kiss you back." They smiled at each other, leaning forward for their hello/goodbye kiss. It was sweet, short, and simple. Petra pulled back, blushing at how forward she was being with this stranger named Jacob. He smiled at her warmly.  
  
"If you don't stop blushing soon, I'm going to have to ... do something that I can't put into words in the presence of a lady." He was blushing by the end of the sentence, and she blushed more deeply.  
  
"I can't help it," she told him truthfully. "I've never kissed someone I just met before. To be honest, I'm a little worried about being in a relationship where there're no common memories."  
  
"Yeah, it's a bit strange, but it's worth it," he told her, pleading her to continue with the relationship. "Please," he asked quietly. "I need you, Petra. Please be with me, even if it is a difficult relationship for us both."  
  
"Alright ... I guess. You're very handsome and persuasive," she smiled and blushed. "I'll stay with you, Jay. Hopefully, I'll need you too after a while."  
  
He nodded, thinking of how torn up he'd be if she didn't need him as much as he needed her. "Well, what would you like to do?" He asked, resting his head on her shoulder again.  
  
"I don't know; all I usually on my time off these days is sleep. Of course I've only been in office two days, so I can't really say anything is usual." She sighed and closed her eyes. "It's strange, because I don't need sleep, and my throat never hurts no matter how much singing I do."  
  
"Tricks of the trade, my dear, tricks of the trade." He wanted to make a suggestion as to what they should do, but he was smart enough to know that his idea might scare her off. "We could watch a movie or something," he offered.  
  
"I see you're already familiar with one of my weaknesses," she sighed, mock-dramatically. "What do you have?"  
  
"If I'm not mistaken, I have two of your most beloved movies on DVD." He smiled sweetly and took her hand in his. "I want you to guess what they are." His eyes twinkled joyfully as she laughed.  
  
"You know that's not fair, I have at least 50 movies that I consider to be my favorites." She closed her eyes and thought. "Let's see now. . . can I know what genre?"  
  
"Fantasy." He answered simply.  
  
"Okay, that narrows it down a lot. How about. . . 'Labrynth'?" She started.  
  
"No, but close." he said with a smile.  
  
"'The Dark Crystal'?"  
  
"I knew you'd get it! Yeah, I have "The Dark Crystal" on DVD, care to watch it?"  
  
"I can never turn down that movie, you should know that. So, lead the way to your TV and we'll have some popcorn and a movie."  
  
He stood and led her into a den on the left hand side of the hallway. There was a 30" or 40" tv on a short, sturdy table facing a soft-brown corduroy couch. On another of the walls was a shelveing unti, litered with classic movies in VHS and DVD form, and a few movies that would be released in Petra's future. She grinned and jumped over the back of the couch and landed comfortably near the middle.  
  
"I love doing that, hope you don't mind." she said to him wiht a smile. "This is a great couch, too, really comfortable." She squeaked as the couch shook and Jacob plopped down beside her.  
  
"That's why I requested this couch. And don't worry about jumping over the back, I do that too." He put his arm over her shoulders, turned on the TV and started "The Dark Crystal".  
  
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(A/N: A bit odd, I realise but oh well. I may re-edit later, but possibly not. I don't own "The Dark Crystal", Jim Henson productions does [It's still one of the most awesome movies I've ever seen]. Please review, and maybe I'll write another chapter sometime.) 


	4. Four

(A/N: Sorry for the wait... If there's a lynch mob on the way, I can't say I blame them. Though I must say, trying to live up to Piers Anthony is no easy task. Hope it was worth the wait. Again, pardon the errors in previous chapters, I may yet fix them^_^ And I greatly appreciate all the good reviews^_^ They do so bolster a writer's soul.)

She lingered outside Chronos' front door for a few moments, looking at her watch to see it wasn't even 6 pm. "No kidding 'you leave before you arrive'!" she chuffed. Petra strode off his property, onto the main grass of Purgatory, thinking to herself. She'd had a nice time, but he was saying goodbye while she was saying hello. Leaving after the movie ended seemed like the best idea to her, as she could tell he was wishing for a more familiar goodbye.

'What do I do with the extra two hours?' she humphed to herself, looking along the line of estates. 'It's important not to run into myself, so where do I go?' Shrugging, she walked to the Purgatory office, looking over the entrance. It was a plain, one story office building, completely mundane but for its location... In the center of Purgatory, between the mansions of the Incarnations and their Lessers. She shook her head, marveling at the unreality of it all, as she stepped in the building.

Through the glass double-doors was an off-white tiled room, with cream-colored rough-upholstered chairs here and there. Classic office plants framed the door, though closer inspection revealed that they were growing through the floor. A three-sided, rectangular desk sat staunchly in the center of the room, supporting various paperwork, and a young woman working frantically at lessening the pile of paperwork with the help of her computer.

The young woman raised her head momentarily, registering Petra with little interest. "To what do we owe the pleasure of Eros' company?" she asked with a bit of a clip to her tone.

"Curiosity," Petra answered brightly. "You wouldn't happen to have time to explain why there's an office building in Purgatory, would you?" Her hands were again in her pockets as she asked tentatively.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Not really. Follow the green line," she stated flatly, pointing to a green line leading off to Petra's right.

"Oh. Thanks," she waved, following her line while noticing the other colored lines on the floor. They led to separate rooms, and she wondered what the difference was between them. She opened the door that the line disappeared beneath to find a square computer room. She looked at it quizzically. "How exactly is a computer going to ease my curiosity?"

Petra pulled up a chair and hit the on switch with a shrug. A tree with a heart-shaped bole near the center flashed onto the screen, then it went black. "Hmm..." she typed, "Inquiry: Are all Purgatory computers identical?" The text appeared in boldface, pale green.

'Essentially.' It replied in boldface white. 'How else may I be of service to you today?' It scrolled onto the screen.

"Hmm. If only you could tell me what the deal is with the receptionist," she wondered out loud as she leaned forward to type it all out.

"She, like all the staff here, is a balanced soul, trying to work off her evils in order to ascend to Heaven." It answered in a tinny voice.

"Oh, you speak," she said with a furrowed brow.

"Yes." The text scrolled on screen even as it spoke to her.

"You said the computers are essentially the same, so how are they different?"

"They are programmed to expect specific Incarnations and their Lessers. We have access to the same database, but are in effect specialized."

"Interesting... Do God and the Other have computers here also?" She asked, leaning back in her chair and linking her fingers behind her head.

"They do not need them." It answered flatly.

"Lord of Flies has already contacted me, can I expect anything of the sort from God?"

This time it took a considerable amount of time for an answer. "Unlikely."

"Unlikely, but not impossible?" Leaning forward, she rested her chin on her fists.

Again a lengthy pause. "Correct."

"Hmm. Can you give me details on the relationship between Gaea and her husband?"

"It is not my place to inform you in this matter." It answered briskly. Well, as briskly as a monotonous computer-generated voice can be.

"I see. Then I suppose asking why Mars sends his regards would get me the same reaction?"

"Yes."

"Well, at least you're consistent," she sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes."

"You're repeating yourself, but I'm sure you know that." She said with a smirk, wondering if she'd actually enjoy trying to see how many times you could get it to say only 'yes'. Shaking her head as it answered 'yes,' she rested her cheek in her palm.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to volunteer information I may find useful, would you?"

"No. I can only answer questions. It is up to you ask the right ones."

She quirked a brow at it. That sounded suspiciously like a big hint, which is in a sense offering up information. She decided to let it go for the time being and figure out a good question that it could actually answer. Maybe that was all it meant by asking it the right questions. "Of course," she said after a delay, answering herself more than the computer.

"Did, um, Mr. Positivity mean what he said about Love in his back pocket being no good to anyone?"

"Yes." Petra frowned. It seemed to her that the computer had been a little too quick to answer that one.

"Just 'cause he meant it doesn't mean he won't try to buy me out." She let out a sigh and scratched her head while she looked at the monitor. She could see her reflection in the blackness around the computer's text, and a strange feeling made the back of her neck prickle.

"Astute observation," the computer took it upon itself to answer her thoughts. And why not? It had been sitting alone for more years than it liked to calculate, and the new Eros was nice, even if she wasn't the brightest diode in the batch.

Petra went back to typing. 'Has someone been watching us?' she wrote as she asked out loud, "I wonder what I should ask next..."

'Yes.' It scrolled the answer silently onto the screen. 'There is no need for alarm.' It added quickly.

'Why Not?' she typed with exasperation.

'There is a surveillance system in place.'

Petra knew there had to be more to it than that. Cameras never made her feel quite as watched as being stared at. She frowned at the computer, feeling like it only gave her half the answer.

'What kind of surveillance system?'

The computer's screen flickered for a second before it answered. 'It is complicated.'

'Does that mean you can't tell me? Or you won't?'

'I am not at liberty to give details on this matter to an Incarnation still within the trial period.' If the computer were capable of hate, it would hate that sentence. It had been the computer's experience that as soon as that sentence was placed in the way of the inquirer, said inquirer would leave.

Petra just sat there, looking indignantly at the screen for a few minutes. She crossed her arms and glowered at the monitor as she asked, "Did I do the right thing, accepting this job?"

The screen flickered again. "Yes. Fate would not offer the position to an unsuitable candidate."

"Does that mean there can be multiple candidates for Incarnations?"

The computer processed for a few second before answering, "It varies from office to office."

"So yes for some, no for others..." she summed up to herself. She wasn't fishing for a response from the computer, but it still answered her. This time it chirped 'Precisely.', instead of a simple yes. Petra was getting the strange feeling the computer had been lonely...

"Does that mean there was another potential Eros when Fate picked me?" Petra was really beginning to enjoy this conversation. She wasn't sure how useful it would prove to be, but at least it was interesting.

The computer processed again momentarily. "Technically yes."

"So technically, there's someone else who _could_ do this, but they aren't as suitable for it as I am. That is what you're getting at, right?"

"Yes."

"Well that makes me feel a little better." She folded her arms and stared at the terminal. What else could she ask it? She was still incredibly curious, but she knew she was running out of the right questions. "Hmm, I'll be back once I've figured out something else to ask you."

"Alright." Again, Petra would almost swear to a hint of reluctance in the computer's tone.

"Is there a proper way I should shut you off or anything?" She asked tentatively.

"Merely press the off switch." It answered matter-of-factly.

"All right... Well... Goodbye." She wasn't sure it was really appropriate to tell a machine goodbye, but manners never killed anyone. At least not that she knew of...

"Goodbye," it scrolled and spoke before flashing the heart-boled tree and and going black again before she pressed the off switch.

Checking her watch, she discovered she hadn't killed as much time as she'd hoped, but at least she wouldn't run into herself at home now. It was about 6:20 again, so she decided to go home sine her previous self had most certainly left.


End file.
